Desire
by EmberSkies
Summary: Time is all Titus Alexius desires… or is it? As his impending death draws closer and closer, Titus realizes that the desire to live longer might not be as selfish as it seems.


**A/N: Just so you know, there are no pairings intended or implied whatsoever in this fic. This is purely friendship, so fear not, anti-shippers. ;)**

* * *

Time is all Titus Alexius has ever desired; but is that too much to ask for?

It must be, he muses bitterly, since even though that is the one thing – the _only_ thing – Titus has ever wanted, it's the one thing he can never get.

Or maybe it's because he's not pure; he's not _human_ , like everyone else. He's a clone, in every right of the word, simply a washed out imitation of someone who is purely human. In the darkest of times, that is always where his thoughts lead him, though he knows it's not true. Lady Scheherazade has always been like a mother to him; a light in the darkness, despite her initially cold demeanor.

He'd only been a warrior; Scheherazade's puppet, in everyone else's eyes, created for the sole purpose of protecting the Reim Empire.

Until Aladdin arrived.

At first, he'd been curious about that little, blue haired midget who'd somehow managed to top his class and challenge him for the title of Best Magician. After their first meeting, when he'd been thoroughly humiliated, the mere thought of Aladdin infuriated him.

However, what most stood out about this strange magician was the flurry of white Rukh that darted around him, encircling both Aladdin and Titus as the former shook Titus's hand after their intense battle. The trusting smile on young Aladdin's face made Titus hesitate, but Titus was on a mission, and people like Aladdin would only hinder that mission.

Titus was neither blind nor deaf; he heard the cries of shock from the teachers and Aladdin's friends, way up in the audience. They watched in horror as Titus cast his eyes downwards with real pain and regret, whispering "I'm sorry" before moving in with his wand for the killing blow.

Looking back on it, if it hadn't been for Matal Mogamett's interference, Aladdin would be dead.

The headmaster – Chancellor was his official title – had deflected most of Titus's curse, so that Aladdin was only knocked out with a bleeding head wound. In Titus's eyes, that's the only good deed Mogamett has ever done for him; which is sad, because it would have been unnecessary if Titus had chosen to spare Aladdin.

(Which he didn't, of course.)

After that, Titus was placed under house arrest for the night. Which he'd expected; after all, attempted murder of a student wasn't exactly legal, even in Magnostadt. He'd escaped from the dark room he'd been kept in, and snuck upstairs to Aladdin's hospital room. He had, after all, noticed the dark ruby stone in Aladdin's arm, identical to his own, that Aladdin had tried so hard to conceal. Titus was practically bursting with excitement at the implications.

Aladdin had let him in, of course; he didn't call the guards or anything, which Titus was grateful for. "You're like me," Titus told him finally, his eyes betraying the excitement he felt. Finally – finally! There was someone else like him, someone else who worked for a Magi and held a red communication stone, embedded in his arm. Before, Titus had thought they were worlds apart, but now he knew that they were exactly alike.

Titus had been so excited back then. What a fool he was, Titus thinks now, to believe that there was anyone like him; anyone at all.

"I don't work for a Magi." Aladdin had told him, wide blue eyes reflecting moonlight streaming in from the window. "I _am_ a Magi."

* * *

That statement induced a pang of sadness and loneliness, but Titus got over it soon enough.

After that, Titus and Aladdin became fast friends. Titus also befriended Sphintus, a funny healer with dark skin, white hair and sparkling green eyes. Despite his slightly crude and vulgar sense of humor, Sphintus was one of the most caring people Titus had ever met. Even though he wasn't nearly as reckless as Titus or Aladdin, he really did care for his friends and the people around him. Sphintus was practically born to be a healer.

The three of them had explored all the upper districts of Magnostadt, and Titus had been fascinated by the smallest of things; cats, babies, mothers with their children, everything! Titus had never seen anything like it, and thought it was amazing to actually experience. After a while, Sphintus and Aladdin became somewhat exasperated with him, and hurried him along so they could return before sundown.

At the end of the day, the trio decided to visit the Fifth District, the lowest level of Magnostadt. They went disguised as teachers to avoid suspicion, but their disguises were stripped away soon enough, and Titus learned the horrible truth; the Fifth District was nothing but a Magoi-producing facility, with the life literally being sucked out of the citizens in order to power the magical devices above.

Titus, Aladdin and Sphintus were furious, and understandably so. It was ruthless, positively _inhumane_ to use these human beings as power sources. To be completely honest, it made Titus want to cry.

Then, he met Marga; another child who would change his life forever.

Marga was young; only five or six years old, but she had a life-threatening heart disease, not to mention the Magoi that was continuously being sucked out of her frail body. Marga's greatest desire was to go outside, which made Titus's heart clench in empathy; for fourteen years, during his cloning process, he'd felt the same way. After a while, Titus and Marga became inseparable, and when the other magicians from Magnostadt came to end Marga's life, Titus was willing to die for her.

Of course, back then he'd never known that in a week or two he'd sob and gasp, crying his eyes out in Matal Mogamett's office and begging this man, this horrid man who treated non-magicians like pigs for slaughter and was the cause of Marga's impending death, to extend Titus's life.

It was so selfish, contradicting every selfish action he'd ever done. But now Titus realizes, with a sort of melancholy acceptance, that it wasn't as selfish as he thought it was. After all, all he was asking was the chance to spend more time with Marga, with Sphintus and Aladdin; with the people who cared for him, and the people he cared for himself. Titus wanted to spend the rest of his life with them, and that wish would turn out to be pretty anticlimactic if he died in less than a month.

Which was exactly what would happen to Titus; his cruel fate would cut off his life when it had barely began. Just like that.

Titus had the mind and body of a fifteen year old, but he was technically only a year old; such were the 'wonders' of cloning. Titus was cursed to die young; with only a little more than a year to live out his life. And now that Titus had made friends, had a family, he didn't ever want to let go.

Was that selfish? Was it too much to ask? Apparently it was, since despite all the wonders of Mogamett's magic, he was incapable of extending Titus's life.

The next day, when Marga asked him what was wrong, bright eyes imploring and boring into his very soul, Titus couldn't stop the barrage of tears that fell as he wrapped his arms around little Marga and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

* * *

After the great battle between Magnostadt and the Reim Empire subsided, Scheherazade invited Aladdin, along with his apparent King's Canidate, Alibaba, into a boat to discuss important matters. Titus was invited as well.

Titus hated to admit it, but he felt a bit melancholy, seeing that he wasn't quite Aladdin's best friend; in fact, he wasn't even close. Seeing the familiarity, the laughing smile on his face as he interacted with Alibaba, sent a slight twinge through his heart. Though now, he supposes he should have expected that; after all, someone with Aladdin's cheerful personality and knowledgeable insight would have gained tons of friends by now. Titus understands that; he just felt a bit sad, to know he wasn't someone special anymore; just another friend made on a wild adventure.

Scheherazade apologized; the regret and sincerity clear in her shimmering blue eyes. She told Titus how she wished she could have been a better parent, and then informs Aladdin and Alibaba about their imminent deaths, the very thing that has been plaguing Titus's soul. Aladdin looks horror stricken, and Alibaba, who's never really had any personal connection with Titus, looks like he doesn't know what to feel.

Then, Titus realized that Mogamett didn't plan on stopping his attacks anytime soon, if the newly spawned Dark Djinns were anything to go by. Titus raced towards Magnostadt, knowing that even though he only had a sliver of life left, it was better spent sacrificed for the sake of his friends.

Marga didn't understand the entirety of what's going on, but at the same time she understood perfectly, linking hands with Titus and slowly flying towards the darkest part of the abyss, where Mogamett was. Titus's eyes gleamed with determination, the Rukh around him floating calmly and serenely. Titus would end this, here and now.

Titus knows that, despite everything, Matal Mogamett truly is a good person.

That was why Titus fought Mogamett not with his magic, but with words; reminding him about all the people he fought to protect, about equality, about life itself. And it is Titus who stands as the single light in the darkness, while Mogamett's dark Rukh try their hardest to commence their mission of world destruction.

When Aladdin and Yamraiha free Mogamett, and Titus finds himself in the presence of a Djinn, he immediately assumes that he's dead.

He feels only the slightest twinge of remorse; he's sorry to leave his friends behind. Titus knows Sphintus and Aladdin will move on just fine without him, but Marga, he fears, will never stop grieving. But he supposes it can't be helped now, since he is now dead, and the dead remain dead, no matter what.

Then, another light appears to envelop him, and Titus recognizes this other presence as Scheherazade, embracing him even in death.

The Djinn speaks now, his voice deep and lyrical. "Scheherazade, are you sure you want to choose this child?"

Scheherazade nods, golden mane of hair sparkling.

Titus feels himself being lifted out of the Djinn's temple – a Dungeon, perhaps? – and the last thing Titus hears is the Djinn's voice. "Farewell, Titus Alexius. It's time to go, my new Magi… to the world that is awaiting you!"

When Titus opens his eyes to find his feet on true soil and with long hair tumbling past his shoulders and brushing his ankles, Marga is the first one to reach him, enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. Sphintus and the others smile at him, thoroughly glad he's alive.

But Aladdin senses the change in him, in the length of his hair and the way the Rukh now flock to him. Aladdin can tell that Titus is now a Magi, but Titus doesn't feel the need to discuss it with him; or anyone else, for that matter. He doesn't want them to see him as an all-powerful Magi; after all, he's just Titus Alexius, just like before.

Before now, Titus Alexius thought time was his greatest desire, but now he knows the truth.

Titus wants friends; he wants family. He wants peace, and happiness, and the chance to see the world. Titus doesn't wish for an extraordinarily long amount of time; he just wants enough.

And maybe, just maybe, that's the most selfless desire of all.

* * *

 **A/N: I just finished the Magi anime, and I love Aladdin's character development; he really is different from the innocent boy at the beginning of the show. However, the one character that really stood out to me was Titus Alexius. Titus is a really deep character, in my opinion, and I'm sad that he only got that one arc. I think the show and manga would be very interesting if Titus was one of the main characters, but after he became a Magi, it was obvious that Titus's role was pretty much over.**

 **Anyway, how do you like this fic? Please review; I'll take all the constructive criticism I can get!**


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